Thanks for posting you business experience with Flex, the ham community needs to see when vendors lack common courtesy, I see Flex treating their customer base NO better. I believe Flex Radio Systems views the ham community as being composed of a large number of SUCKERS ready for the picking, and after following the Flex Reflector they are probably correct. However, they are creative, by requiring a large down payment for something they could not show works they develop a fools list most medicine men would pay thousands for.

What I don't get is why anyone would defend a company when someone reports a bad experience with that company. Unless you work for that company or are compensated by them some how, why would anyone bother to defend a business entity?

What's the benefit?

What has such said company done for you that you didn't already pay for by purchasing one of their products?

What I don't get is why anyone would defend a company when someone reports a bad experience with that company. Unless you work for that company or are compensated by them some how, why would anyone bother to defend a business entity?

What's the benefit?

What has such said company done for you that you didn't already pay for by purchasing one of their products?

I imagine some people just want to see the company succeed, and as long as they have not personally had a bad experiences, they are willing to overlook how the company has treated others. Some are too new and have not had time to experience what others have experienced. Because their new toy is so far A-OK with them, they think that others are just unfairly bashing the product or company. Others simply cannot admit that there is a flaw in their shiny new toy. They define their own self worth by the toys they have on their desk. They react worse to an insult to their toy than they would react to an insult to their wife or children. I imagine some defend a company out of a feeling of loyalty - very few companies (if any at all) reward the loyalty of a customer. It is usually a one way street.

What I don't get is why anyone would defend a company when someone reports a bad experience with that company. Unless you work for that company or are compensated by them some how, why would anyone bother to defend a business entity?

What's the benefit?

I would imagine if you purchased something from a company you may defend them if you didn't want to see them bad mouthed into extinction. It would a bitch trying to get parts, literature or support from a company that went under.

What I don't get is why anyone would defend a company when someone reports a bad experience with that company. Unless you work for that company or are compensated by them some how, why would anyone bother to defend a business entity?

What's the benefit?

I would imagine if you purchased something from a company you may defend them if you didn't want to see them bad mouthed into extinction. It would a bitch trying to get parts, literature or support from a company that went under.

Maybe if that company stopped screwing over its past, current, and future customers, they would deserve that kind of consideration. But Flex is doing it at their own hands. Defending things like what happened to K4FMH is indefensible.

I would imagine if you purchased something from a company you may defend them if you didn't want to see them bad mouthed into extinction.

FlexSpeak: Bad mouthed= Telling the Truth

Flexradio has no one to blame for their bad press but their own Company Policies. Plain and simple if they wanted to change the attitude of (ex) customers, they would stop making the same mistakes over and over and over again. I don't see that happening.

Just a small company with growing pains. All these upstarts are under resourced and full of enthusiasm. They are not Apple or Microsoft who can throw around a few hundred people here and there for PR exercises.

That does not excuse the poor behavior from Flexradio as reported. These days sending a email indicating that they dont have the time or resources to participate in the event would have taken 5 seconds of anyone's time.This would have been the best thing to do from Flex's perspective rather than wasting other peoples time with false expectations.

When I was interested in buying Flexradio I was exchanging emails with John W5GI who worked for Flex at that time. John was a straight shooter and never weaseled his way out of the tough questions.I asked him specifically about the spurs and the IMD performance, he said straight out dont buy the Flex 5000 because there was no fix for these issues. He always said he would check with the experts and get back to me. When he said he would send you an email tomorrow at 12pm, it would be there at 12pm. I think this was more reflection of his military background and personal ethics rather than following the companies procedure manual.

I've done my "job" in this forum....what part of calling TWICE doesn't compute for you? Be "strong"? As if I'm threatened by Flex staff? That doesn't count all the emails from me and the presenter. YOU asked for another call to see what happened...and I said you could call them yourself since YOU want to know. Me? I don't care what happened.

As I said, I'm still a happy Flex 3K user...the presenter is still a happy Flex 5Ka user. That hasn't changed. I'm not a hater, just disappointed at poor marketing communications as I would be if it had been Icom, Kenwood, or Yaesu. I read your blog and enjoy it so I have no ax to grind with you either. But you're as off-frequency as an old blue-lightning transmitter if you think I should call ONCE AGAIN about their screw-up.

But, I do think it behooves me to report this to other hams via this Forum about their lack of business integrity in corporate communications. Feel free to contact them and find out the answer to the mystery if you're interested.

Would seem you are unwilling risk losing your reason to complain by not not making an effort to follow up, but somehow have plenty of time and enegery to spend making public announcements.

Suggesting that someone else do your job of following up isn't solution orientated - it is copping out.

You are in the best position to follow up, and are the one owed an answer. Not forum members like myself who have only what we've read from your moaning.

Be strong, make the call and find out what happened. It will take less time than all this message posting to fill us in on how you're unhappy yet unwilling to do a pinch about it.

I've done my "job" in this forum....what part of calling TWICE doesn't compute for you? Be "strong"? As if I'm threatened by Flex staff? That doesn't count all the emails from me and the presenter. YOU asked for another call to see what happened...and I said you could call them yourself since YOU want to know. Me? I don't care what happened.

Many here appreciate your honest representation of what happened. IMO you did over and above what was necessary.

I learned early in MY dealings with Flexradio and Flexers that they do not tolerate public dissension, not matter that what you say is the truth. For whatever reason they want to keep secrets.

When Flexradio modified my Flex 5K for the 160/80 mteter spur mod I was asked by Steve Hicks to not talk about it publicly. Why? I figured they did not want everyone to know about it because the mod would cost them lots of $$$ if all Flexers decided to get it. I did not tell anyone publicly about the mod for 6 months - until I decided to sell my 5K.

I finally decided to sell my Flex 5000.I advertised it as having the "coveted 160/80 meter spur mod". The day my ad posted the Flex forum was inundated with questions about the mod.

Flexradio announced the mod that day. The same day I advertised my radio with the "coveted mod".

I've done my "job" in this forum....what part of calling TWICE doesn't compute for you? Be "strong"? As if I'm threatened by Flex staff? That doesn't count all the emails from me and the presenter. YOU asked for another call to see what happened...and I said you could call them yourself since YOU want to know. Me? I don't care what happened.

Many here appreciate your honest representation of what happened. IMO you did over and above what was necessary.

I learned early in MY dealings with Flexradio and Flexers that they do not tolerate public dissension, not matter that what you say is the truth. For whatever reason they want to keep secrets.

When Flexradio modified my Flex 5K for the 160/80 mteter spur mod I was asked by Steve Hicks to not talk about it publicly. Why? I figured they did not want everyone to know about it because the mod would cost them lots of $$$ if all Flexers decided to get it. I did not tell anyone publicly about the mod for 6 months - until I decided to sell my 5K.

I finally decided to sell my Flex 5000.I advertised it as having the "coveted 160/80 meter spur mod". The day my ad posted the Flex forum was inundated with questions about the mod.

Flexradio announced the mod that day. The same day I advertised my radio with the "coveted mod".

This is how Flexradio does business. Make your own conclusions.

Stan K9IUQ

Flex Radio also had the now famous ALC overshoot problem in the software. A careful analysis of the code by a NON FLEX programmer found that the ALC code was placed in the wrong position within the DSP chain. I personally know two OMs who had solid state amps destroyed by the Flex ALC overshoot problem. Up until the NON FLEX programmer discovered the cause of the ALC overshoot problem, Flex was denying that there was any problem - this includes the President of Flex himself. Instead, they were blaming the problems on the users and the manufacturers of the solid state amps (despite the fact that these amps had been successfully used with other manufacturer's radios for years before without issue). Even when it was demonstrated that the ALC overshoot was in fact a programming bug in their software, they quietly fixed the issue and still will not admit to it. You can google for more information about this if you want independent verification. You can also compare the PowerSDR source code before and after to see when they made this fix. This is how they do business.

I've done my "job" in this forum....what part of calling TWICE doesn't compute for you? Be "strong"? As if I'm threatened by Flex staff? That doesn't count all the emails from me and the presenter. YOU asked for another call to see what happened...and I said you could call them yourself since YOU want to know. Me? I don't care what happened.

Becasue it looks like your team dopped the ball too.

EMails unanswered should always be followed with more solid communications.

When you lost contact with them, your team let the crash happen.

And now you claim the high ground without doing any follow.

I am not excusing them - someone there left you dangling.

But I don't see them lambasting the Capital Fest team saying how screwed up your team is.

I agree with what Zinki and others have stated, it would have been very simple for SOMEONEat Flex Radio to email them and tell them they did not have the time or resources, to participatelike they had said they would. It really would not have taken that much time. And it would havebeen much less disappointing all around if they had made the contact. After all, Flex Radio's employees(more than one) said they would participate. So, it's not like somesingle, obscure person working at Flex made the deal and was not in a position to make such promises. This certainly was not a good way to promote good will among them and their customers and future customers. jamesWD5GWY

Hey Steve, there was no "73" in your post. Learn the meaning. Or just say, "have a nice day".

My "team" was me and the particular presenter at the Ham Fest. Now you've lodged a wholly uninformed stone at something you have no position to do so. I did not lose contact....attempting right up to the day of the presentation (which was a Saturday) to make it happen. We were doing Flex a favor by focusing on their products; not SDR vendors at large. We didn't let the crash happen: the session went off on illustrating SDR principles with a focus on the Flex 5000a (which the presenter owns and has himself identified several critical problems with that rig to the Flex support team).

You know, because of my previous enjoyment of your blog, I kinda, sorta felt you were being bullied in this Forum. I know understand your detractors. Since you're willing to outright blast me and my Club's ham fest for no legitimate reason, count me on the negative side of the ledger. As we say here in the South, your position here is as full of bull-shit as a Christmas turkey!

I won't sign 73 since I don't mean it. But, have a nice day. And, I'm QRT on this thread.

I've done my "job" in this forum....what part of calling TWICE doesn't compute for you? Be "strong"? As if I'm threatened by Flex staff? That doesn't count all the emails from me and the presenter. YOU asked for another call to see what happened...and I said you could call them yourself since YOU want to know. Me? I don't care what happened.

Becasue it looks like your team dopped the ball too.

EMails unanswered should always be followed with more solid communications.

When you lost contact with them, your team let the crash happen.

And now you claim the high ground without doing any follow.

I am not excusing them - someone there left you dangling.

But I don't see them lambasting the Capital Fest team saying how screwed up your team is.

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